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About Jay Z
Shawn Corey Carter, also
known as Jay-Z was born
4 December 1969. He is
the former CEO of
Def-Jam Recordings and
Roc-a-Fella Records, and
is now co-owner of the
40/40 Club and the New
Jersey Nets. His career
began in the late
80s/early 90s when he
began rapping with his
mentor Jaz-O. His first
rap single was entitled
“I Can’t Get With That”
.
He set up his own record
label – Roc-a-Fella
Records, on which his
debut album “Reasonable
Doubt” was released in
1996. The album went
platinum and was
included in Rolling
Stone Magazines 500
Greatest Albums of All
Time. Jay-Zs next album
In My Lifetime Vol.1 was
produced by Sean “P
Diddy” Combs. The album
documented some of the
most difficult times of
Jay-Z’s life and was
recorded during the
period when his close
friend, The Notorious
B.I.G, died. This
release also achieved
platinum status.
Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life
was released in 1998.
The inspiration for the
title of the album “Hard
Knock Life (Ghetto
Anthem” became the
biggest hit single of
his career so far. The
album was by far his
most commercially
successful work, selling
5 million copies, going
platinum 5 times over,
and winning a Grammy
award.
1999 saw the release of
Jay-Z’s fourth album,
Vol.3… Life and Times of
S. Carter. The release
of this album was
accompanied by scandal,
when Jay-Z was accused
of stabbing a record
executive as revenge for
bootlegging the album.
He was found not guilty,
but served 3 years
probation for a lesser
charge.
Jay-Z released The
Dynasty: Roc La Familia
in 2000. It was
originally planned to be
a compilation album
featuring various Roc-a-Fella
artists, but ended up as
a Jay-Z album. The
Neptunes and Kanye West
went on to considerable
success after their
involvement with this
album. Released in the
wake of the September 11
attacks was Jay-Zs next
album “The Blueprint”.
Entering the chart at
number 1, the album
featured Eminem on the
track “Renegade” and
four tracks were
produced by Kanye West.
The following year, a
double album “The
Blueprint: The Gift and
The Curse” was released.
Also making its debut at
number 1 on the album
chart, it would
eventually sell more
than the first
“Blueprint” album. The
single “Bonnie and
Clyde” which featured
Beyonce Knowles, went on
to be a massive chart
hit.
“The Black Album” was
recorded whilst Jay-Z
toured with Sean Paul,
Busta Rhymes and 50
Cent. It was announced
that this album would be
Jay-Zs last prior to his
retirement and it went
on to sell 3 million
copies.
As a “retirement party”
Jay-z held a charity
concert at Madison
Square Gardens which
would be featured in his
film “Fade To Black”.
Performers included
Missy Elliott, Mary J.
Blige, Beyonce, Pharrell
Williams and R Kelly.
Although officially
“retired” Jay-Z
continued to work on a
variety of projects
including a famed
collaboration with
Linkin Park in 2004. He
released a comeback
album in 2006 entitled
“Kingdom Come” which
spawned a successful and
controversial single
“Show Me What You got”
which was leaked on the
internet and resulted in
investigations by the
FBI. An album inspired
by the film “American
Gangster” and a
legendary but much
debated headline
appearance at
Glastonbury in 2008
followed.
Jay-Z enjoys continued
success as a musical
performer, businessman
and philanthropist.
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